Jan 12 Skilling Brexit

Two thirds of UK firms are finding it harder to retain EU nationals in their workforces, while over half are finding it increasingly difficult to attract EU nationals to work in the UK due to Brexit, according to the CBI.

The ongoing uncertainty around Brexit has added to UK doubts about the depth and breadth of the domestic skills base, says the CBI. And businesses need to be confident that future immigration arrangements will enable them to bring in enough people with the right skills from abroad in the future.

And, “this means providing access to labour and technical skills – not just the brightest and best,” the CBI adds. “Getting systems right to achieve this could make a big difference in improving business assessments of the UK as a location for future investment.”

And, because of Brexit, one quarter of affected firms are considering relocating some business functions out of the UK and nearly one-fifth have already postponed or cancelled planned investment in the UK.

The CBI points out that many of the businesses considering relocating some functions have this as a contingency plan in the event that they will not be able to access the people they need after Brexit.